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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24060028">druids are the gardeners</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bifangirl/pseuds/JayQueenofHugs'>JayQueenofHugs (bifangirl)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Not Another D&amp;D Podcast (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Immortality, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Introspection, Overuse Of Parentheses, Sad</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 18:35:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>946</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24060028</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bifangirl/pseuds/JayQueenofHugs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When the fight with Thiala is finally over and the Boobs have a chance to rest, Moonshine reflects. Reflects on the future, on what’s to come. They have a bit over a century left together, all of them, and while it’s more than it originally would have been, it’s not nearly enough. And time always passes by too quickly. (Moonshine's Timeless Body)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>druids are the gardeners</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>My first work in this fandom and it's 1) sad and 2) right before the finale... Title is that sad thing that Murph said that made me cry ("Trees die and... new ones sprout up... and we druids are the gardeners")<br/>Also I rushed writing this because I wanted to get it out before the finale so... enjoy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯<br/>(99 spoilers)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the fight with Thiala is finally over and the Boobs have a chance to rest, Moonshine reflects. Reflects on the future, on what’s to come (on bringing the dragons back, on the joy the future could hold, on Timeless Body and the sorrow life inevitably has in store). They have a bit over a century left together, all of them, and while it’s more than it originally would have been (don’t think about that, don’t think about how Hardwon would have died sooner if he had still been human), it’s not nearly enough. (No amount of time would ever be enough, not for the Band of Boobs). And time always passes by too quickly.</p><p>When Balnor goes, they all knew it was coming and they know he deserves his rest (he’s lived two different realities, let him have a break). And they know time is running out (too soon, it’s all going by too fast). (But something still stings about Balnor, he wasn’t originally from this timeline, his son and wife never existed in this timeline, they aren’t waiting in the afterlife for him and there was never much in this timeline for him but them.)</p><p>And more years pass by and with them come more losses, never getting easier. Hardwon may not be the first of her friends to go, but it’s the loss that hits her the hardest. She’d known this was coming (of course she did, how could she not, it had loomed over her head for the past century) but it’s still <em> too soon </em>. The conversation with Mee Maw echoes in her mind and she knows that she’s a guardian throughout time (she knows, she just wishes it didn’t hurt so much).</p><p>And for a moment (just a moment, a long moment and nothing more) Moonshine contemplates bringing him back. She can do it, she has enough power to do it, Hardwon can come back and they’ll all be together and- <em> She can’t do it. </em> Death is natural, it’s beautiful and cruel all at once (and she knows it, it’s something she’s always telling others), it’s a part of life that she just has to accept (except she'll live for so long, Bev will live for so long, it isn’t fair that Hardwon Surefoot won’t be there with them). </p><p>And it hurts her more than anything to know that there will be no one else like Hardwon, that he is gone (for good this time, not like before). But she keeps going, there are more trees to tend to in her garden, more people to meet (and guide, save, help), and wounds can always heal (even though this one feels like it never will).</p><p>And then young Bev (not young, not anymore, never again) loses Erlin and she knows how much it hurts because she’s hurting too (and maybe they can just hurt together, for a little while). And there’s something so cruel that the universe would take so much from Bev in such a short time (life and death, the overlap of cruelty and beauty, the emotions they could all bring, the hurt and sadness and <em> pain </em>).</p><p>Moonshine dedicates all of her time after Hardwon to bringing the dragons back (because she promised, because she needs to do this). Not that she wasn’t doing it before, she just <em> needs </em> more from it (she needs a distraction and so she throws herself into it). And when she brings them back, she dedicates her time to being their guardian and Mishka Beverly Paw Paw II is there with her and Beverly (Bev, who lost Erlin, who could outlive her as well) and, of course, Paw Paw (he’ll always be there with her, they’ll all be there except Hardwon). (At least dragons live for a long time, at least she’ll likely have someone there with her at the end.)</p><p>And while she brings the dragons back, she reflects on Telaine and Melora (and something about that hurts her too because they can spend eternity together while she watches so many people wilt away around her). (But then she thinks they must have done that too, when they chose not to interfere.)</p><p>But somewhere along the line, she forgets that not all elves live for as long as she and Mee Maw will, and then she loses Ol’ Cobb (but she didn’t forget, she just didn’t want it to be <em> true </em>). (And she tries and tries to heal while helping the dragons). And then she loses Lucanas. And their losses tear at the scars and barely healed wounds and her emotions come pouring out of her both times and, not for the first time, she wonders how much more heartache she can bear. But she stays strong (she has to, if she breaks down now then how will she get through the thousands of years ahead of her), even while the losses grow and grow, ripping pieces of her heart out each time.</p><p>But the Crick recovers, lives and grows, and the Grand Maw tree stands strong and tall, and Moonshine and Jolene watch over them as time goes by. And as she goes through the years, a gardener and a guardian of nature, a hero of Bahumia, she bears witness to whole lifespans, generations passing by. Her fungal network grows and she knows there will be a legacy to leave behind in the world (something to remember everyone who is gone, as well). And the wounds left behind will never fully heal, the gaps in her soul from losses will never be perfectly filled, but the mismatched puzzle pieces that get her through the ages seem to her like bandages made of mycelium.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>1) Sorry about that also please feel free to yell at me about it<br/>2) This is my first NADDPod fic so if anyone has any tips for writing the characters (or just writing tips in general), please tell me them<br/>3) Sorry if this is ooc at all, I honestly really just needed to write this down and then I figured I'd share it<br/>4) The working title for this fic was "overuse of parentheses" and I think that's very fitting</p></blockquote></div></div>
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